Stay up-to-date on the very latest news and rumors from Major League Baseball's 2007 Winter Meetings in Nashville with veteran MLB.com reporter Jim Molony.

Tigers set to acquire Cabrera, Willis from Marlins

Detroit and Florida are hammering out the final details on an eight-player trade that would send third baseman Miguel Cabrera and left-handed starter Dontrelle Willis to Detroit for pitcher Andrew Miller, outfielder Cameron Maybin and four other prospects.

The deal is not expected to be completed until Wednesday, as Willis is vacationing in Mexico.

A source familiar with the negotiations has told MLB.com that the Tigers are parting with outfielder Maybin and lefty starter Miller for the final two players from the Marlins 2003 World Series championship squad.

Cabrera is a four-time All-Star who comes off a season where he batted .320 with 34 home runs and 119 RBIs. The 24-year-old made $7.4 million this past season and he is in line to earn more than $10 million in 2008.

Willis is coming off a 10-15 season with a 5.17 ERA. While the D-Train, who made $6.45 million in 2007, is coming off his worst season, he compiled 205 1/3 innings, marking his third straight 200-plus season.

Cabrera would play third on a Detroit infield that would also include Carlos Guillen, Placido Polanco and Edgar Renteria, though it is uncertain where incumbent third baseman Brandon Inge fits in the scenario. Willis would slide into a rotation with Jeremy Bonderman, Kenny Rogers and Justin Verlander.

The addition of Jones, a 10-time Gold Glove winner, would further strengthen the White Sox (who added 2007 American League Gold Glove shortstop Orlando Cabrera last month) defensively and give the team five players — Jones, Cabrera, Jim Thome, Jermaine Dye and Paul Konerko — who averaged 89 RBIs and 250 total bases apiece in 2007.

Kansas City is also considering Jones and the Los Angeles Dodgers are a potential destination for the outfielder.

Santana still in play

The Yankees are reportedly out. The Angels say they aren’t in. Then again, the Yankees were also out on Alex Rodriguez before re-signing him and the Angels are believed to be interested in Santana according to multiple sources.

Perhaps the only certainty regarding Santana as of 6 p.m. CT Tuesday evening was that he was still a Minnesota Twin.

The Yankees, before allegedly bowing out of the pursuit of Santana, had improved their offer to include both right-hander Phil Hughes and outfielder Melky Cabrera, while prepared to supplement that proposal with a mid-level prospect to acquire Santana, a left-hander who will be 29 by Opening Day and is seeking a sizable contract extension. The Twins are engaged in discussions with Boston regarding Santana.

While denying media reports that the Angels had joined the Red Sox and Yankees in the Santana sweepstakes, Angels GM Tony Reagins clearly owns the option of reconsidering and taking a run at a man that many baseball people consider the game?s premier pitcher.

"There are a lot of things out there being reported," Reagins said when asked about Minnesota’s superstar pitcher, "but I don’t see anything on the horizon. We haven’t had any discussions with regard to adding starting pitching."

Reagins did speak with new Twins GM Bill Smith on Monday, but he claimed Santana’s name did not surface in the conversation.

Ricciardi shoots down Rios rumor

Toronto GM J.P. Ricciardi said there was absolutely nothing to the rumor that had Cliff Lee and Franklin Gutierrez going to the Jays for Alex Rios: "I don’t know where that came from. We’ve never had a talk with Cleveland about Rios at all."

Giants looking for hot corner help

The buzz linking San Francisco to St. Louis third baseman Scott Rolen continued to increase Tuesday.

Rolen, 32, has a no-trade clause and a history of shoulder and back injuries. An ailing left shoulder limited Rolen to 112 games last season, when he batted .265 with eight homers and 58 RBIs before he underwent season-ending surgery on Sept. 11. He is owed $36 million over the next three years.

The Giants discussed trade possibilities Monday with the Baltimore Orioles about shortstop Miguel Tejada, creating the possibility of follow-up talks. Tejada, a shortstop, would move to third base if he joined San Francisco.

Iguchi, Phillies talking

Phillies GM Pat Gillick told reporters at the Opryland Hotel on Tuesday that the Phillies have re-engaged Tadahito Iguchi about him playing third base in 2008 and beyond.

Iguchi, a free agent, was acquired in last July and batted .301 in 26 games starting for Chase Utley. He had hoped to find a team that was looking for a second baseman.

13 Comments

Wow! Good for the Tigers! Now, if this trade falls through and the Red Sox are able to trade for Johann Santana, who do you think would be the best team? Do you think that these 2 teams would meet each other in the AL Championship next year?

Makes you wonder whats going on in FL?
The four players the Angels offered for Miguel Cabrera are better than the 6 Detroit gave up for both Cabrera and Willis. If they traded them separately surely they could’ve gotten more players in the deal?

Win, Win! The Tigers are probably odds on favorite in the division if not the AL with this deal and Im not even a Tiger fan. Renteria, Guillen, Cabrera, Ordonez, Sheffield, Thames, Rodriguez, Granderson, Polanco. Inge in super=utility mode. Verlander, Bonderman, Rogers, Willis, Robertson all above average. Cam Maybin, Mike Rabelo and Andrew Miller are all top 50 prospects in the majors, Miller a potential ace with filthy stuff, Maybin a 5 tool 20 year old.

This is win win I watched Maybin, Miller, and Rabelo this year.
Maybin is a 5 tool player who is about 2 years away Miller has nasty stuff but struggles with control and pitch count, and Rabelo is a adequate switch hitting back up catcher.

I don’t think White Sox rumors ever end up going through, and I’m speaking as a White Sox fan who has been watching this for quite a while.

The ones where they talk and talk about it never happen. Torii Hunter is coming here! Oh wait, he signed with the Angels, a story that nobody picked up on. There’s a million rumored deals for Jon Garland, and then once he actually IS dealt, there isn’t a single blip beforehand.

Kenny Williams does his stuff in secret. If you hear about a White Sox deal or trade…it’s probably not going to happen.

It’s the stuff that you DON’T have the privilege of being privy to which is important.

I don’t understand this move by the Marlins. You get Maybin and Miller who are pretty good, Rabelo is all right and other prospects who may or may not be good major league players someday. The Angels and Dodgers would’ve given them more major league ready players who have already proven themselves in the big leagues, and by the way, that was just for 1 player, not two of the best players on the team. Are they just trying to save some money, because this move ultimately does not make them any better, much less a contender in a tough national league east. With this move I’m sure that they’ll finish dead last in not just the east, but the entire national league. Great job by the Tigers though of landing two legitamite players on their roster, this makes them one of the best teams in the AL I feel.

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